Are you prepared?

March 11 marks the 4^th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake. It's hard to believe that day was four years ago. I remember it all like it was just a few weeks ago, not years. My son had just come home from school and was telling his brother about his day. I was on the couch reading a book when I felt the first vibrations. The boys didn't believe me when I said there was an earthquake. Unlike other earthquakes though, this one didn't stop. Instead it kept picking up, getting stronger and stronger. We had already been living in Japan a couple of years and are from California, we’re familiar with earthquakes. This was SO different. The power went out and cell service was out. We stayed inside and rode out the aftershocks. Several minutes after, my husband finally came home—he had just left work when the shaking began. Meeting the neighbors outside, we heard the tsunami sirens. Such a scary time, but at least we were all together. The following days were full of unknown, rolling blackouts, and mass confusion.  Would we stay in Japan? Evacuate somewhere? A couple weeks later, we found ourselves on a plane to the US.

Are you prepared for an emergency situation? Japan is home to not just the earthquakes, but also typhoons. Last winter was unseasonable cold and we had a couple rather large snowstorms--one of which shut down nearly all transportation. There were some people walking miles in the snow!

Living overseas, we are a community that travels often. Our children probably have more airport experience than most adults. Odd hour flights, long layovers, delays. How do you spend your time in airports? We then find ourselves in countries where we don't know the language.

Last week I was talking to a friend and fellow homeschool mom. We somehow got on the subject of being prepared, and I was so impressed with what she does that I thought it needed to be shared. It just made sense! (And I'm sorry to say, even after our experiences, we haven't changed anything.) Each of her children have backpacks with a ziplock that contains contact information along with personal hygiene items and small snacks.

When flying they include an additional ziplock with changes of clothes should there be delays or lost luggage—that would have helped when our baggage took a side trip to a different airport from us.
List of Bag Contents

All of this seems so simple and easy. It's something to get our children in the practice now. I do carry a small bag with me wherever I go that contains medications, lotion, and sunscreen, but I never thought to make sure my kids carry something similar should they find themselves in need. That will be changing.

How have you prepared your family? What things do you do when you travel? PCS season and summer travel is approaching, please prepare.  

Earthquake Preparedness

It’s been over three years since Japan was hit with the Tohoko earthquake, the “big one.” Last week, Tokyo experienced one of the largest quakes since then and we had another shaker this morning  I’m sure for many who are new to Yokosuka, and have never felt a quake before, it can be quite a scary experience. I know it got my heart racing!  Do you know what to do during an earthquake? Are you prepared to ride one out?

Down in Yokosuka, not far from City Hall, is the area Emergency Preparedness Center. This is a great little facility to check out and learn about disaster preparedness here. Yes, it is all in Japanese, but the pictures are pretty obvious and the staff very helpful.  If you can go with a Japanese speaker, even better.  KPHS took a field trip here last year that was a fantastic experience. 

The facility’s main attraction is the earthquake simulator.  Here you can ride out a 6.5 earthquake and really get a feel for the power of Mother Nature.  Although only a few of the kids were here in 2011 to feel the big one, they all enjoyed the safe experience.  For another few, this was their first time feeling the sensation.

Earthquakes here are frequent.  Some are small, some have been pretty good, such as that last week.  The buildings here are built to sustain large quakes, and that is a comfort to know.  (Down at the Edo Museum in Tokyo, you can see just how they’re built.) It is always a good idea to know your surroundings.  To have flashlights at the ready; be prepared. Check out Ready.gov for earthquake preparation and what to do.  To get information about an earthquake, visit the Japanese Meteorological Agency. This is the picture from today's quake. It was a 4.9 in Chiba.